Sofa bed



Aug. 12 1924.

CA HULTGREN SOFA BED Filed April 4 192] 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug.' 12 1924.

c. HULTGREN vSOFA'BED Filed April 4,

1921` y s sheets-Smet s Patented Angell?, i924.,

eraremmers HULTGREN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIeNon ro s. nanrnN a Bacs.er CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or wiser VIRGINIA.

sera nan. i

Application led April 4,

To all whom z' may concern.'

' Be it known that I, CHARLES Hunrcnnn,

' a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in thecounty ofCook andv State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Sofa Beds, of which the following is a specification.

The present'invention relates particularly to sofa-beds of the type inwhich the cush- `l0 ions of the sofa are adapted to be spread on thebed-sections in the extended condition of the structure to serve as amattress for the bed. The invention is in the nature of a modificationof or an improvement upon Ml the invention set forth in my applicationINo. 444,724 filed February ,1 4, 1921.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide. aconstruction of the charactor set forth in-Iny pending application inwhich the bed structure is readily demountable from the main frame.

The invention is lillustrated in its preferred embodiment .in theaccompanying drawings in whiclI- Figure l1 represents a verticalsectional view of the structure in extended" condition,

'the section being taken as indicated at line 1 of Fig. 4; Fig. 2, asimilar sectional View, but showing thc structure in folded, orsofa,

,'form; Fig. 3, a broken front elevational View of the structure in sofaform, the front piece with which the front bed-section is provided beingremoved, however; Fig. 4, a broken plan section of the sofa-bedv in opencondition; Fig. 5, an elevational view showing one of the demountablebars having permanently pivoted theretothe levers which carry thebed-sections, it being understood that such an arrangement is employedat each 4end 'of the-sofa-bed structure; Fig. 6, a view I of one of thesupportingplates or-bars with which the end standards of the main frameare equipped; Fig. 7, a broken sectional View vtaken as indicated atline 7 of Fig. 4; and '45 Fig 8 a broken sectional view taken asindicated at line 8 of Fig. 1

' In theembodiment shown, A represents a main fralne'provided with aback A', end standards or arms A2, and front and rear cross members A3and A? extending longitudinally of the main frame and c onnecting thebase portions. of the end stand# ards; B, a front bed-section which', inthe folded condition of the structure, is superposed over the rearsection and becomes the 1921. Serial No. 458,189.

seat portion on whit-n the cushions are supported; C, ay rearbed-section which is adapted to be lowered in the frame when thestructure is converted to sofa forno.; B', a front mattress-section andC a rear mat trees-section supported by the bed-sections B and Crespectively, the section C. being adapted to 'fold forwardly upon thesection B about the point or line l, preparatory to converting thestructure to so'fa form; D, D', pairs of parallel'front and rear leversfulcrumed' on demountable bars employed; E, a demountable bar at eachend of the structure, each of said bars carrying a front lever and arear lever; 4and F a supporting bar permanently secured to the innersurface of each of the end standards A2, said supporting bars F carryingthe den'iountable bars Fi.' s The frame A may be of any suitable con 75struction and design. It is shown as comprising substantial endstandardsor arms which are rigidly connected at the back p01*-, tions bythe back Af, the lower portions of the end standards being staunclilyconnected @il together by the 'rails or stringere la and` A4'. The mainframe is preferably equipped with casters 2.

The frames of the bed-sections l and C are similar in construction, butthe front section B preferably slightly longer than the rear section C,as will be understood from.Fig. 4. The front bedsection cornprises alower rectangular traine 3, an upper U-shaped frame 4,-and corner pieces5 rising from the lower frame and supporting the upper frame. Similarly,therear bedsection C` comprises alower frame G, an upper frame 7, andcorner pieces 8 rising Jfrom the lower frame and supporting the upperframe.

T lie upper frames '4 and 7 of the ,bedsections serve to support thewire mattress, or mattress sections 19, which may` be stretched thereon.-The wire mattressserves to support lthe cushions or mattress sections Band C. Any suitable spring construction may be substituted'for the wiremattress 9. l.The end members of the upper frames 4' and 7 aresuitablytrussed or braced by' ineansofA braces 10 which connect said end memberswith the-longitudinal members i* rear edge of the seat thus aii'ordedextends the front. corner pieces or standards 8 of the rear bed-sectionare inclined rearwardly and upwardly, so that the front bed-section issomewhat wider (from front to rear)than the rear bed section. Thus, whenthe iront bed-section occupies the folded condition shown in Fig. 2,thus serving as a seat, the

backwardly under the padded or cushioned portion of the back A.Moreover, by inclining the adjacent edges of the :trames of l 'rearlevers being pivotally connected with -the intermediate portions of theplates E by rivets 12. Each lever has a forwardly extending long arm 13which inclines upwardly Somewhat as shown in Fig. 1, and has 'anupstanding short arm '14. The long arms of the front levers D areconnected with the end members of the lower frame of the bed-section Bby pivots 15; and the long arms of the rear levers are connected withthe squared ends' of a longitudinal rod 16 whose end portions arejournalled in the end members of the lower -frame 3 of the ronebed-section in the manner illustrated in Fig'. 8. The short arms of thefront levers D are connected with the front portions of the end membersof the lower frame of the rear bed-section C by pivots 17; and the shortarms of therear levers D are connected with the intermediate portions ofthe end members of the lower frame 6 of the rear bed-section b pivots18.

By comparing. ig l with Fig. 2, it will be observed that in convertingthe structure from bed-form to sofa form, the levers are turnedapproximately 180 about the fulcruins 11 and 12, and the rearbed-section is lowered in the main frame, while the front bed-section iscarried to a position in which it is superposed over the rearbed-section.

The supporting plates F are provided with perforations 19 ada ted toreceive screws y means of which t e plates are firmly secured to theinner surfaces ofthe lower portions of the end standards A. The platesF' have inwardly struck portions 20 whicl1` are provided with angularslots 21. These slots are adapted to receive outwardly extending studs22 which are securely riveted to thedemountable plates E, as appears'from Fig. 7. The outer ends of the studsV 22 .are equippedw-ith flangesor. heads 22 which are received 1n the spaces between the odset portions20 of the bars F and the inner surfaces of the end standards A2. Each ofthe supporting plates F is equipped with a latch or locking pawl 23which is adapted to extend across the front slot 21. The pawls 23 areconnected with the plates F by pivots 24. Each pawl is notched to engagethe corresponding stud 22. The purpose is to confine the studs 22 in thebays or oll'sets 21a of the slots 21, as will be readily understoodfrom. Figs. 6 and 7.

When desired, the pawls 23 may be thrown back; and the bed structure maythen be lifted from the main frame.

The mainframe A may, if desired, be made of knock-down construction. notillustrated, however.

By means of the construction described, the metal bed structure may beassembled with the various members permanently connected; and the bedstructure may readily be inserted into the main frame of the sofabedafter shipment to the dealer.

It is desirable to provide counterbalancing means which will aid in theoperation of converting the structure from bed form to sofa form andvice versa. For this purpose, the demountable plates E are provided withThis is rearward extensions E having their rear extremities bentinwardly as indicated at 25. Substantial coil springs 26 connect themembers 25 'with the end members of the rear bed-section. It will beunderstood from Figs. l and 2 that the springs 26 are placed undertension when the structure is in either the ext-ended condition or thefolded condition. Thus, the springs will aid the operator in convertingthe structure from one form to the other form.

The front bed-section B is equipped at its front portion with le s 27which'are adapted to rest upon the oor in either the extended conditionor the folded condition of the device. The front edge of the frontbed-section is also equi ped with a front piece 28 which is adapted toconceal the bed structure when it is in the folded condition. The endsof the front ieee 28, it will be understood, are dispose adjacent theinner surfaces of the front ortions of the standards A. of the main ramewhen the structure is in sofa form.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly aspossible in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a structure of the character set forth the combination of a mainframe having end standards rovided at their inner surfaces near theirower edges with rigidly secured supportingy lates, a pair of platesdemountably carrie by said supporting plates and equippedwith rearwardextensions, a pair of levers permanently pivoted to each demountableplate, each of said levers having a long arm and a shortarn'1`,"a"front-bed section mounted on the long arms of said levers, anda rear bed-section mounted on the short arms of said levers, the shortarms of said levers serving to carry the rear bedsection rearwardly asubstantial distance and then forwardly substantially the same distancein the operation of folding vthe structure, said rear bed-section beingadapted to occupy -a position above the plane of said extensions whenthe bed is open and a posi tion below the plane of said, extensions whenthe bed is closed, and springs connecting the rear ends of saidextensions with the rear bed-section.

2. n a structure of the character set forth the combination of a mainframe having end standards equipped at the lower portions of their innersurfaces with rigidly secured horizontal bars, each of said bars havinga plurality of inwardly struck offset portions provided with slotsopening at their upper edges, a pair of horizontally disposeddemountable bars each equipped with a plurality of outwardly extendingstudsL received by said slots, a pair of angular leversv having theirelbow portions permanently mounted pivotally on each demountable bar,each of said levers having a long arm and a short` arm, a frontbed-section carried by the long arms of said leversyand a rearbed-section carried by the short arms of said levers.

3. In a structure of the character set forthV the combination of a mainframe having end standards, front and rear bed-sections, a pair ofparallel levers ofangular form, each lever having a long arm pivotallyconnected with the front bed-section and a short arm pivot- `short armsbeing adapted to carry the rear bed-section rearwardly a substantialdistnace and then forwardly a substantial distance in the operation offolding the structure, a pair of demountable bars upon. which the elbowportions of said levens are permanently fulcrunied, each of said barshaving 'a rearward extension, springs connecting said extensions withthe rear bed-section, and supporting bars rigidly secured to the innersurfaces of the lower portions ofgsaid end standards, said supportingbars having slotted inwardly oset portions, and

.sa'id demountable bars having outwardly extending studs engaging theslotted offset portions of the supporting bars, said rear bed-sectionbeing adapted to be disposed above the plane of said extensions in theopen position and below said plane in the folded position of thestructure.

4. In a structure of the character set forth the combination of a mainframe having end standards provided at their inner surfaces near theirlower edges with rigidly secured supporting plates, a pair of platesdemountably carried by said supporting plates and equipped with rearwardextensions, a pair of levers-permanently pivoted to each demountableplate, each of said levers having a long arm and an offset short arm,the lone arms of the rear set of levers being adapte to swinging pastthe upper ends of the short arms of the front levers when the structureis converted to bed form, a front bed-section mounted on the long armsof said levers, and a rear bed-section mounted on the short arms of saidlevers, and springs connecting the rear bed-section wtih the rearwardexten sions of said demountable plates.

CHARLES HULTGREN.

